RFI re Transitioning

The request was successful.

Dear Croydon Borough Council,

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Please provide
any information that you hold answering to any of the following descriptions:

1. Please provide a copy of your current Transitioning at Work Policy
2. Please provide a copy of any Equality Impact Assessment completed in
connection with your Transitioning at Work Policy.
3. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 (Regulation 20)
state that separate sanitary conveniences must be provided for men and
women. A man is a person born male or who holds a Gender Recognition
Certificate as male. A woman is a person born female or who holds a Gender
Recognition Certificate as female. Please explain how you have ensured that
your Transitioning at Work Policy is compliant with the requirements of
Regulation 20.
4. Please explain the process you followed in adopting your current procedure.
a. How was the procedure drafted and by who?
b. What advice did you take in the policy?
c. Was the policy checked by a lawyer whose area of expertise is
employment and/or equality law?
d. Who was responsible for final approval of the policy prior to its
introduction.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Gray

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

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DEAR Richard Gray

 

Freedom of information request - FOI/8316

 

Subject: FOI - work place policy

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Kind Regard

Information Management Team

 

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

 

7th Floor, Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

croydon@infreemation.co.uk, Croydon Borough Council

2 Attachments

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

Dear Richard Gray

Request FOI/8316

Freedom of Information Request

Your request has been considered under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act. Specifically, you have requested the following
information:
 

 1. Please provide a copy of your current Transitioning at Work Policy

We have a Guidance for Supporting Transgender Employees which includes
transitioning at work guidance (attached).  This was issued in 2018 and
updated in 2019.
 

 2. Please provide a copy of any Equality Impact Assessment completed in
connection with your Transitioning at Work Policy.

Attached is the form when the initial guidance was drafted.
 

 3. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992
(Regulation 20) state that separate sanitary conveniences must be
provided for men and women. A man is a person born male or who holds a
Gender Recognition Certificate as male. A woman is a person born
female or who holds a Gender Recognition Certificate as female. Please
explain how you have ensured that your Transitioning at Work Policy is
compliant with the requirements of Regulation 20.

No reference was made to this regulation in the guidance. Within the
guidance single sex toilets are referenced (7.6) and it states:
“The council via line managers will support the trans employee's right to
use the toilets and facilities appropriate to the gender that they have
presented.”
 

 4. Please explain the process you followed in adopting your current
procedure.

 a. How was the procedure drafted and by who?

The procedure was drafted by Human resources in conjunction with the LGBT+
Network group and with guidance from Stonewall
 

 a. What advice did you take in the policy?

Advice was taken from the LGBT+ Network, trade unions and Stonewall.
 

 a. Was the policy checked by a lawyer whose area of expertise is
employment and/or equality law?

No.
 

 a. Who was responsible for final approval of the policy prior to its
introduction

Similarly, to other policies this was approved formally by the Trade
unions, and senior management team.

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[1]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
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under the Freedom of Information Act you may ask for an internal review. 
This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of this response. 
You can do this by outlining the details of your complaint by:

Email:        [Croydon Borough Council request email]

Writing:    
Information Team
London Borough of Croydon
Bernard Weatherill House
7^th Floor - Zone B
8 Mint Walk
Croydon CR0 1EA

Any requests received after the 40 working day time limit will be
considered only at the discretion of the council.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire   SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely 

Croydon Council
 

References

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1. https://croydon.disclosure-log.co.uk/